In court documents made public yesterday by the Phoenix New Times, we learn that Mike Zullo is consulting a so far unnamed Atlanta attorney to represent him in Phoenix. Meanwhile a possibility remains that the Arpaio defense team will be involved in the representation—Judge Snow wrote:
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that [Arpaio Attorney] Mr. Popolizio must inform the Court within a day if he intends to take the position that he represents Mr. Zullo.
Zullo is claiming protection from disclosure for certain documents and emails that he is under subpoena to produce. Unless Zullo or his attorney files a brief with the Court by October 30, the Court will order them produced. Zullo had claimed to Arpaio’s counsel protection under the 4th and 5th Amendments. Reportedly Melendres defendant Brian Mackiewicz has pled the 5th.
Two names have been put forward by Zullo watchers as possible identities for the Atlanta attorney. One is former Georgia legislator and birther lawyer Mark Hatfield. Hatfield represented Kevin Powell and Carl Swensson before Judge Malihi in the action taken in Georgia to prevent Obama from being on the Ballot (Farrar v. Obama). I heard Hatfield speak at that hearing, but it was rather brief. Hatfield argued the 2-citizen-parent eligibility theory; however, Hatfield is also on the record in 2010 saying that he did not have enough information to decide whether or not Barack Obama was born in the United States. His office, however, isn’t in Atlanta.
The second name is Robert Laurence “Bob” Barr, Jr., a former federal prosecutor and member of the US House of Representatives. Barr previously received the endorsement of Sheriff Arpaio in his bid to regain his House seat. Barr was involved with the effort to impeach president Bill Clinton, and Larry Klayman (who also represents Zullo) represented Barr in a lawsuit against Bill Clinton and James Carville (h/t to gorefan). He was a Libertarian Party candidate for president in 2008, and is a board member of the National Rifle Association.
Commenter gorefan reminds us, too, of a comment by ★FALCON★at Birther Report, around February 21, 2014 linking Zullo and Barr directly:
I got some interesting news today. I have a friend that is an investigator and he had dinner with Zullo, Arapio (sic), and Barr last Thursday night. According to him they did share some of the information they have gathered.
This story is getting continued media attention, even outside Phoenix where it has been almost daily fare. Today a new article from the Associated Press was published at U. S. News and World Report: “Hearings mark public attempt to confront Arizona sheriff with recurring retaliation claims” with a prominent photo of both Arpaio and Zullo together. The AP story states, “Zullo declined to answer many questions during a deposition and refused to turn over some documents. Snow said he was unlikely to grant immunity.” Other reliable sources believe that the deposition did not take place.
Read More:
I believe the US News story is wrong. Stephen Lemons wrote this today:
I will put my money on Lemons being accurate.
Bob Barr at Larry Klayman’s impeach President Obama failed rally, November, 2013.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o4Z3833pkc
I’m inclined to think that Hatfield is not involved. Judge Snow’s order refers to an attorney in Atlanta, and Hatfield’s office is in Waycross, a four-hour drive from Atlanta. Barr, on the other hand, is in Atlanta.
My guess is Bob Barr is being called for some IOUs by Arpaio. Zullo is the center of attention now. Have fun Mikey.
There is one other name to consider, an Atlanta attorney who assisted David Farrar in setting up his 2012 lawsuit against Obama’s eligibility: Loren Collins. While I agree that Barr is the most likely choice, Collins would be a truly monumental irony.
Here is Falcon’s original post at ORYR from February, 2014 (fifth comment down):
I got some interesting news today. I have a friend that is an investigator and he had dinner with Zullo, Arapio, and Barr last Thursday night. According to him they did share some of the information they have gathered.
I won’t say exactly what they told him – I know, you hate that – but I will say that some here have been correct regarding the foreign student status.
Additionally, should Barr win re-election (he was a congressman a few years back) he will be immediately launching an impeachment of Obama.
http://www.obamareleaseyourrecords.com/2014/02/knus-obamas-forged-birth-certificate.html
The Thursday night’s dinner he mentioned was a fund raiser for Bob Barr held in Marietta, Georgia.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140213233641/http://barrcongress.com/2014/02/07/barr-gets-arpaio-endorsement-jeremy-redmon-ajc/
So you have Bob Barr with a decades long relationship with Larry Klayman and Arpaio with a strong relationship with Bob Barr and possibly Zullo going to Atlanta for a fundraiser for Bob Barr.
While not definitive, it makes Barr a strong candidate for the Atlanta lawyer.
Thanks. I added this to the story. Falcon said that the meeting was a dinner meeting “last Thursday.” I don’t know a way to get an accurate date out of Intense Debate (closer than a week), but it looks like the date would be February 13; however, if he got it wrong by a week (or I have the ID date off by a week), then the date becomes Thursday, February 6 and that is the date that Arpaio hosted a BBQ fundraising dinner for Bob Barr in Smyrna, Georgia. If that is the case, then the occasion was not quite the intimate affair that one might imagine from Falcon’s comment.
Falcon made another comment the end of this past September:
The client pays not only for the time that the attorney spends in preparing for court, attending depositions, and appearing in court — he also pays for the time spent by the attorney traveling, as well as airfare and hotel costs.
So, why an Atlanta attorney when Phoenix has a large bar of criminal defense lawyers?
My guess (speaking as an attorney admitted to the Arizona bar): No local attorney will take on the representation because the client insists upon pursuing an untenable conspiracy-theory defense. The slang term for such client is “tar baby.” I will leave it to your imagination to figure out why.
Untenable defenses have entertainment value.
It appears that the Atlanta attorney, whomever he or she might be, is not interested in representing Zullo. Reality Check posted this at The Fogbow a short while ago:
Defense attorney McDonald contacted the Atlanta attorney with Judge Snow’s order from yesterday. The Atlanta attorney told Zullo he had to get counsel and Defense attorney Popolizio would not represent Zullo. Defense attorney McDonald has not heard from Zullo as of today.
As Georgetown JD says, there is no shortage of excellent criminal and civil attorneys in Phoenix, but they apparently consider Zullo to be toxic.
Calling Orly!
I’m not so sure Zullo will hire a birther attorney. First, he knows better, second, he doesn’t need one. This is not about birfin’, after all.
Orly might be best. With all of her legal wrangling, she might be able to delay the case for next 5 years. The case in Mississippi still hasn’t been closed out. I thought Tepper was going to get $100,000 from Orly in sanctions.
It was dismissed in March. No appeal filed, no sanctions sought. It is over.
Judge Snow would shut her down faster than you can blink an eye.
I thought he wanted her house, but in the end, nothing happened. I can understand the plaintiff Democratic Party wanting to put the thing to rest.
So john, I see you got a break from your new career advising Chief inspector Zoulleau on his legal strategy. How’s it going?
Are we to assume you’re behind Monsieur Zoulleau’s strategy of: Produce some but not all documents, plead the 5th without pleading the 5th, refuse to be deposed without an attorney present, and refuse to ever get an attorney?
Brilliant work, I must say. You’re certainly earning whatever Zoulleau’s paying you.
My speculation is that if another judge other than the extraordinarily lazy Judge Wingate were involved that there might have been a motion for sanctions. It would have probably not been resolved until 2022 if it had been filed.
She’d never get pro hac vice.
Another Falcon comment on Barr from March, 2015:
Falcon corrects the “Last Thursday” comment:
And more from February:
Falcon has never specifically revealed what A/Z told his friend.
Maybe it is time to ask him.
I find this extraordinary:
We know Obama was born elsewhere.
We know he gave up his citizenship when he moved to Indonesia.
We know his Father was a furriner and thus he is not eligible anyway.
We know he forged a birth certificate.
We know he registered as a foreign student.
We know he visited Pakistan when it was like a death penalty offense for Americans to go there.
We know he conspired with others to blackmail Judge Snow, especially about Mrs. Snow’s poor choices in fast food establishments.
We know there is universe shattering news. We know it. We can feel it in our bones.
Unlike Orly’s attempts, we have an actual courtroom hearing the case on the merits and regular press coverage. A reporter who is tweeting every word.
We are this close to exposing Obama, driving him from office, and nullifying everything he did with the exception to the extension of the Bush tax cuts. (Imagine how Al Qaeda feels knowing how close we are to reversing Osama bin Laden’s death, sort of like Bobby Ewing on Dallas).
All we need is Mike Zullo to take the stand and present the evidence. We are this close. Heck, the JPL cannot even measure a distance as close as this.
And Mike Zullo took the 5th? You have got to be kidding me? The crime of the century is not going to be exposed because Mike Zullo is afraid of going to jail? Heck, if Zullo just discloses the evidence there will be parades. Monuments, even. Awards. Blondes fawning at his feet. He will be a guest host on Saturday Night Live. He will even be funny.
Mike Zullo took the 5th??? You have got to be frigging kidding me. We are this close.
This narrates exemplary. Zullo certainly will extend his Absolvence from any possible Indescription, of which he obviously is nonexistent anyway, due of his patriotical and heroicish nature, notwithstanding a Hero for such a cougarous stance. The Next arrivable Administruction to follow the Urespirator’s defferal undonutedly will Guaranty to Zullo an entire and incomplete Pardon.
His problem is that he’s claimed to be “law enforcement” so many times his fellow inmates might not notice that his badge is made of cardboard. That karma involves a different sense of the word “bitch”.
There’s the problem. Zullo prefers brunettes.